Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
Welcome one and all to our beautiful new skin! This marks the visual era of Adventu 4.0, our 4th and by far best design we've had. 3.0 suited our needs for a very long time, but as things are evolving around the site (and all for the better thanks to all of you), it was time for a new, sleek change. The Resource Site celebrity Pharaoh Leep was the amazing mastermind behind this with minor collaborations from your resident moogle. It's one-of-a-kind and suited specifically for Adventu. Click the image for a super easy new skin guide for a visual tour!
Final Fantasy Adventu is a roleplaying forum inspired by the Final Fantasy series. Images on the site are edited by KUPO of FF:A with all source material belonging to their respective artists (i.e. Square Enix, Pixiv Fantasia, etc). The board lyrics are from the Final Fantasy song "Otherworld" composed by Nobuo Uematsu and arranged by The Black Mages II.
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[attr="class","kdahdr"] Alright, partner. You know what time it is!
[attr="class","kdatxtgrad"]
[attr="class","kdatxtbox"]
[attr="class","kdatxt"]
Three cities. In the short time that Zell was Zephon, he traveled to three major cities with each one being much different than the last. From Sonora’s advance technology to Provo’s simplicity of farmers and merchants. And now Torensten’s fantasy-like structures. Zell didn’t have to worry much about the streets being dirty like in Provo, which was a plus. Still, this was all so foreign to him and, once again, the SeeD was lost.
“Docks, docks…” The Pale Coast didn’t yield any results in terms of a boat or ship, but Torensten was right there along the waterfront. He knew there was a harbor for ships in Torensten, he just needed to navigate through the city to find it. A task more difficult than he’d expected.
“Let’s see.” His head rotated to scan the area to find anything that might point him in the right direction. Lo-and-behold there was a tavern conveniently near the city's entrance. “Okay, so just like Provo,” he said, trying to hype himself up, “Ask around for directions, find the harbor, and book it down the river!”
He moved forward, entering the tavern with this new plan in mind. And boy oh boy were there quite the characters around. Torensten must have attracted people from all kinds of different life styles. A small group of gruff looking men in tattered clothing sat in the corner, rambling on about some knight and a woman. Meanwhile, a pair of nobles were seated at a table discussing a newly vacant estate after a bloody murder. There were some other conversations going on as well, but none of them really caught Zell’s attention. But he wasn’t here for gossip and rumors. He was on a mission!
“Yo, barkeep,” he said, casually leaning against the countertop while trying to look cool, “I’m trying to find the docks, er, harbor or whatever. Lookin’ for a boat..”
“Yeah?" The bartender turned, washing a dirty glass and eyeing the goofy looking patron that just walked in. “What’cha need a boat for, son?”
“Some, uh, sightseeing. You know, down the river to some of the local lakes. That sort’a stuff.” Zell did his best to try to remain relaxed, despite his colorful attire looking quite different than what the locals were accustomed to.
“Uh huh. Sure.” The glass was set down before the man behind the counter raised a hand to point out the door. “Just go out that way and go left. After two crossings, take another left. Then straight for three more crossings before taking a right. Then a left, and then another right.” The man smiled, knowing how difficult the directions were for a newcomer. “If you reach the main sewer entrance, you’ve gone too far. You got that, kid?”
Zell gulped while his eyes darted back and forth with a pointed finger moving from side to slightly. He mumbled the directions that he was given, trying to keep up with them. “Uh, yeah. I think.” A sigh followed and the SeeD’s shoulders slumped forward. Nothing was ever easy for him.
Lazily, Zell moved to the exit. His hand rose up to wave at the bartender behind him, hoping his crappy memory didn't already purge the directions to the docks. “Thanks.”
Balthier stood with his arms crossed on the docks of the harbor. Sailors and dockworkers scurried about hefting cargo and preparing for their vessels for launch. Some sought the rivers and some sought the sea, but not a single one of them sought his destination.
And therein lay the problem.
He’d come to the docks on a scouting mission to assay the local trade routes. It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs, but gil was gil, and he’d taken it all the same. His patrons wanted a detailed sketch of the riverways from its security to its checkpoints to the newfound ranks of monsters lurking about its shores.
Too many monsters, it seemed. The sailors spoke of some catastrophe at a temple on the banks of the eastern lakes. Apparently the place was swarming with ghouls and zombies and all manner of other unpleasantries, and while he’d obtained a small vessel for himself, the rumors were enough to scare away even the most veteran of helmsmen. In short, Balthier found himself short a copilot.
A rather common occurrence as of late.
He eyed the docks once again, waiting for someone brave or foolish enough to crawl from the woodwork to join him. While he’d have happily taken to the river by himself, he knew better than to steer an unfamiliar vessel without another set of hands on standby. An experienced set of hands if he could help it though any would do. And should the rumors prove true, well, it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra sword at his side.
There was shouting by the western docks. The source, it seemed, was a rather loud and obstinate boy who refused to take no for an answer. He shouted about all manner of things, but from the general heart of the matter, it appeared he shared Balthier’s displeasure in the ban on travel towards the east. Balthier tilted his head.
Well then. Perhaps his luck hadn’t quite run out yet.
Balthier waited for the rather harried dockworker to turn the boy away before he took the man’s place instead. ”I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re in need of a route to the lakes.” He crossed his arms again. ”As it happens, I’m in need of an extra hand. How about we come to an agreement?”
[attr="class","kdahdr"] Alright, partner. You know what time it is!
[attr="class","kdatxtgrad"]
[attr="class","kdatxtbox"]
[attr="class","kdatxt"]
"Damn it."
Once again, Zell found himself in a pickle. He managed to locate the docks, although a few wrong turns delayed his arrival. Then there was the daunting task of finding an actual ship willing to take him to his destination, which was a problem all on its own.
"There's some nasty monsters that way," one of the dock workers commented.
"My brother took that route and was never seen again," said another.
"You're nuts if you think we'll take a new route for some kid," the a third crew responded, going so far as to laugh at the SeeD for his eager/urgent need to reach the Crystalus Divide.
Zell's shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Sure, there were still more people that he could ask for help, but he was already seeing a pattern. They saw the rivers as a dangerous route to take, one that was not worth the risk.
His pleas for help seemed to go unanswered. That was until a lone man approached the blonde SeeD. He had overheard Zell's situation and even went so far as to suggest that he could take Zell to his destination. Zell didn't have a whole lot of Gil remaining as it was, so the exchange of work for traveling on the ship was one that he couldn't say no to.
"Yes!" he shouted, not even caring about whatever the man needed in exchange for passage. "I'll do it!" Zell fell to his knees and put his hands together as if making a prayer. "Please! I need a ride down the rivers! I'll work! I'll fish! Anything!" He was always one to jump first and ask questions later. Whether or not that offer of doing anything would come back to haunt him was still unknown.
Balthier’s eyebrows raised as the boy started shouting, dropping to his knees as though pleading with him. He was an odd boy of no older than seventeen with gelled hair and an almost tribal tattoo from his forehead to his jaw. It wasn’t his first choice for help. In fact, it ranked quite distantly, but without any other options, Balthier wasn’t like to reject the offer.
”Determined, aren’t you?” he said before humming his ascent. ”Well come along then. We haven’t time to waste.” Balthier raised a hand and waved him forward before turning and starting down the dock. There wasn’t a need for unnecessary questions. Only the basics.
”You have a name, I presume? Balthier will do. If we’re to work together, I’ll want to spare us the confusion.” His boots clicked across the docks. On either side, the workers grunted beneath the weight of barrels and crates. The air smelled strongly of mud and fish. Balthier far preferred the bustle of aerodromes.
He stopped at the far end of the dock and hopped into a small vessel large enough for five people and a load of cargo in the hull. It was rather rudimentary (the local technology was distressingly low), but he’d switched out the sails for a diesel engine and optimized the steering system to pinpoint precision. It would get the job done -- with his optimizations at least.
”Watch your step,” he called to the boy without looking to him. Instead, he inspected the state of the gears of the steering apparatus, checking the bolts for signs of rust. ”Have you any experience helming a ship?” he asked. Balthier planned to pilot the vessel himself, of course, but it never hurt to have a secondary option in case they came under fire. ”Or any fending off beasts and bandits? We'll attract a rather unpleasant lot, I suspect.”
[attr="class","kdahdr"] Alright, partner. You know what time it is!
[attr="class","kdatxtgrad"]
[attr="class","kdatxtbox"]
[attr="class","kdatxt"]
"Yes!!"
Out of all the encounters he had on Zephon so far, this was definitely a better one for the SeeD. Zell scampered up to his feet to follow behind the man with a grin that stretched from cheek to cheek. Finally he thought in regards to his change in luck. He now had a means to travel to the Crystalus Divide and finally find out why he was on Zephon and with any luck, he'd also regain his lost memories. He could only hope.
”You have a name, I presume? Balthier will do."
"Oh! I'm Zell ," he said while trying to hold back his excitement. As a boy, Zell was around quite a few ships in Balamb. It was a fishing town, after all, so he at least had some familiarity with these things. That was one of the few memories that had actually come back to him thanks to his time at the Pale Coast on this world.
"I've been on a few. Can't say that I can pilot one, though," he remarked, taking heed of the warning about the step while boarding the vessel. "There's a lot I don't remember about where I came from. Beasts and bandits, though..." Another grin formed on the blonde's face followed by his gloved fist smacking into the palm of his opposite hand, "Fighting's what I do best."
Of course, Zell had some questions of his own. It wouldn't be wise to board some random vessel without knowing why they were short on staff, leading him to throw a few of his own questions towards Balthier. "So why are you looking for new crew members, anyways? Did something happen to your last ones?" Zell was never one for subtlety which often got him in trouble. This would likely be no different. But his logic was that if there was a danger that affected Balthier's last shipmates, then Zell should at least be made aware of it. Aside from the previously mentioned beasts and bandits of course.
’Zell.’ Balthier noted it as he slid a finger across the bolts he could have sworn he’d tightened that morning. It wasn’t an immediate concern, but he knew it would prick at the back of his mind for hours. He made a mental note to fix it at the first possible opportunity.
”Quite the resume.” Balthier straightened and moved to check the engine instead. ”If the stories are to be believed, there’s been some manner of disturbance in route to our destination. The locals dare not set foot along the river’s banks. Or set sail as it were.” The pistons were well-oiled. The fuel supply was adequate. Balthier turned at the ignition until the engine stuttered, turned, and then hummed to life. It wasn’t his most eloquent of work, but it would do in a pinch.
”You don’t fear the dead, I hope? It seems they’re swarming the lakeside like locusts.” Swarming and devouring everything in their path. He’d heard tales of an entire city vacated and under siege. He chose not to share that particular thought. He preferred to play his cards carefully.
Satisfied, Balthier returned to the docks, untied the mooring rope, and hopped back aboard. ”Let’s be on our way, shall we?” He flipped a switch and the boat started forward, parting the water in waves. Balthier sat perched by the helm, one hand on its wheel and the other tossed back over his seat with careless disregard.
The dock disappeared behind thickets of vines and palm leaves. The air was alive with the chirping of crickets and the scuttling of clawed feet among the foliage. Within moments, it was only them, their boat, and the river. Balthier sighed.
”We’ll find trouble for ourselves, I suspect, but I'd prefer not to pick fights without reason. Most manner of monster will stay along the banks.” He tossed his head aside to consider Zell again. He hadn’t much thought of him once they’d both set foot upon the deck. ”I’ll not have you charging about blindly. The hull won’t withstand any heavy blows. I’d prefer flight over fight if it can be helped.”
With the downfall of a sorceress, it all falls apart. What little was holding existence together, spiraled out of control. The very fabric of time and space tore, like finely shredded silk pulled in too many directions at once. No longer was there an up and down. There was no direction. Just the white of nothingness.
Quistis could hear the others as they too tried to look for an out. “Whatever you do, don’t fall into a time warp.” It was partly a joke, considering they seemed to be stuck in one. Just imagine your foot sinking into the floor this unstable environment. She could even feel the very molecules of her being being torn in many directions. If they stayed here too long, would they cease to exist? It was a very terrifying notion and a very real possibility.
Her eyes turned to focus on the other members of the party. Each one seemed to become distorted. She ran the back of her hand across her eyes and tried to focus on them. But they seemed to ripple and fade out with distorted faces. She could feel her memories begin to tear, erase, and re-write themselves. Would she forget again? After they just recently remembered the past? Would she forget her time with them? She felt panic well in her chest.
But as she looked for an out in this plane of white, her companions began to fade into the background. She reached out a gloved hand to try to stop them from disappearing. But as she watched them become silouhettes and then be absorbed into the light, she did not follow her own advice.
She fell into a time warp.
And she too faded.
—
The sound of calm river water resounded as it flowed around rocks and scraped gently along the bank. The sky was beautiful clear blue with only a few puffs of clouds. The soft sand of the shore seemed to cushion the woman comfortably as she lay asleep. The sun seemed to catch the gold in her tosseled hair. The trees seemed to have curious birds and squirrels looking down at a strange human that did not seem to belong on the shores.
But soon, the animals scattered. Something came trudging from the brush. One dragged its foot along the ground, ignoring the thorns and rocks. It left a large drag mark in the ground, as it filled the air with rotting flesh and unwashed robes. Another was what seemed to be a deformed humanoid. It wore pants, but was otherwise gray in collar with long teeth and earthly eyes. The scent of fresh mortal blood had caught their attention, and their eyes focused on blonde woman on the bank.
Sniff, sniff, sniff.
The ghoul sniffed the air and then hovered just mere inches from Quistis’s cheek to get a good scent of the human meat. Quistis gave a soft groan as she began to come to. Her head in a fog, she turned and opened her gaze to see herself face to face with the ghoul. There was a momentary pause as she tried to register what she was looking at. Then her eyes widened in realization. She gave a swift quick to its chest to force it to back off of her, and stumbled up to her feet.
Eugh. It hurt to move. Her head was still clouded and she could feel the pangs of a headache coming on. She tried to slow her breathing and she forced herself to stand up straighter. She turned her back for a moment as steam seemed to form around her back like wings and electricity crackled around her head like a warped halo. She then turned her head. Her eyes filled and sparked with energy and soon the charge dispersed. The sweeping lasers at the feet of the undead antagonists crackled the ground with a terrible explosion that sent them into the air and back down into pieces.
She wavered on her feet for a moment, before collapsing with her legs under her. Too much energy spent and she could hear more fumbling through the brush. The sound she made attracted the attention of more undead, and she could already see eyes peering out of the tree line at her.
Shakily, she reached out and grabbed her whip. This was not the way to go. She could not give up.
[attr="class","kdahdr"] Alright, partner. You know what time it is!
[attr="class","kdatxtgrad"]
[attr="class","kdatxtbox"]
[attr="class","kdatxt"]
Zell remained out of Balthier's way while the ship was preparing for departure. The water raft itself seemed to be in a fairly decent condition, although some of Balthier's expressions made Zell reconsider his assessment of the boat. Regardless, the duo had concluded their business in Torensten and began to set sail down the rivers. Zell could barely hold his excitement.
The description of the dead rising up and assaulting civilians along the river sent a small shiver up the young SeeD's spine. Although he could not remember what he had fought against in the past, Zell knew he had encounters with the undead in the past. Whether or not they were the same types of monsters would be a different story all together.
"They shouldn't be a problem," he stated on his way towards the side of the boat. "I'm still trying to figure out why I'm here in the first place." Zell leaned forward onto the railing and looked over into the water, watching the waves ripple from the vessel's movements. "I've met a few others who were stuck here, too. I'm not sure why we were taken from our homes, but I figured that a place as important as the Crystalus Divider might have someone there who knows something about it, ya know?"
The blonde male had rambled on about this subject with almost everyone he had met up to this point. Yet, he couldn't find anyone else who actually wanted to go back to where they came from. The impression they always gave him was that they were just going to adapt to this new life on Zephon. Family, friends, and whoever else that he once knew, Zell missed them, even if he couldn't remember the names or faces. He may not have all of his memories, but he could feel a sense of longing to go back home.
"What about you?" he asked after a long drawn out sigh, his eyes shifting back over to where Balthier was seated. "Has Captain Balthier always been sailing the waters?" Zell didn't know much about the man that he'd be traveling with, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to get to know the guy. Balthier seemed like he knew what he was doing, after all. And sailing with someone this laid back would be much more bearable for the SeeD than traveling with a rigid individual who was too uptight for their own good. That thought seemed to bring another memory around, although Zellcouldn't put a name to who his subconscious was referring to.
Balthier hummed an idle interest as the words spewed forward without reservation. The boy had already met those from lands beyond this one. That would save him the explanation.
”A curious thing, isn’t it?” The river belonged only to the trees and the wood. Their leaves obscured their view beyond the banks. Balthier eyed them closely. ”They say it’s another world. An unlikely prospect, I’d say. There are always undiscovered lands and those with the gall to discover them.” Like himself. Still, something pricked like nausea in his throat. If he’d found this land for himself then where was his ship? Or…?
No. He wouldn’t think of Fran.
”I far prefer the skies,” he said. ”A pilot, not a captain, though there’s scant difference when it comes to it. An engine is an engine after all.” A vast simplification, but he wouldn’t have the boy think him inexperienced. The waters held little interest for him. To Balthier, there was only sky.
The leaves rustled before them. Balthier fell silent and listened closely for footsteps. He caught them cracking on dry wood and loose earth. Balthier glanced at Zell with a warning in his eye as he continued onward. They hadn’t come for a fight. The purr of the engine was already loud enough.
For a time, they pushed on in tense silence. The banks were strangely empty of life though every now and then he caught the same staggered steps within the forest walls. Their pursuers did not show themselves. That was, not until a woman staggered towards the water’s edge.
There was a flash of light, a hum of magic, and then the woman fell to her knees. He hardly had time to consider her before a ghastly gray form erupted from the trees. Undead. Balthier cursed under his breath and cut the engine as the thing hissed and lunged towards her, arms raised and only inches from its prey. Balthier whipped his gun from his back, aimed, and fired. The shot cracked the air aa his target stumbled back, collapsing with a bullet in its skull. Staggering footsteps surrounded them. His gunshot echoed like a beacon.
”You said you’d take to a fight?” Balthier aimed again as three more stumbled from the trees. ”Now would be the time!”
All her senses were on high alert. The flora rustled and moved. She tried to quickly get to her feet to react as the ghoul lunged at her. Cursing, her body wouldn’t move fast enough in this state. The disorientation was preventing her from thinking and moving clearly. Before, she had time to reflect on this and get mauled by the lunging undead, a sudden tingle went down her spine. The startling sound of a gunshot caused her to be stunned for only a moment, the tingling sensation causing her hairs to stand on end. The blood of the ghoul splashed onto her face and she thumbed it off.
She stared at the fallen creature, finally forcing herself to her feet. The sudden surge of adrenaline was giving her a bit more strength. She could not take this mission lying down. One always made it back alive knowing they were a step closer to their true goal. Wasn’t that what one of her students used to say? Another creature came out of the brush. Its skin rotted and muscles exposed. With a flick of her wrist, her whip cracked and caused the zombie to trip and taking a foot with it.
It groaned at her and the other zombies lumbered forward over top of it. Quistis crossed her arms over her chest to harness the energy in her. The ground under her lit up and she threw out her arms to release the compressed sound waves. There was a low thrum as the air rippled, causing the river mist to shine in pink rings at the attack. The undead were blasted backwards away from her, but it did little to hinder them. They recovered quickly and began to advance not just towards her, but also along the river’s edge toward the boat.
Quistis turned to peer over her shoulder, holding her whip firmly and pressing another end to her palm. “You may join me at any moment.” She gave a brief smile, “Don’t worry. I don’t bite.” She teased of course, giving the vague allusion that she herself was not a zombie. Swinging her whip over her head, she cracked the end of it across the skull of another that came too close.
